UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies

UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies is an interdisciplinary centre for the integrated study of science's history, philosophy, sociology, communication and policy, located in the heart of London. Founded in 1921. Award winning for teaching and research, plus for our public engagement programme. Rated as outstanding by students at every level.

At UCL, the academic mission is paramount. Our ambition is to achieve the highest standards in our teaching and research.

STS's Stilgoe speaks to Parliament

Publication date:
3 December 2014

STS includes experts in science policy and public engagement who influence policy makers in the real world. In this video, Dr Jack Stilgoe (one of our lecturers) delivers testimony to the UK House of Parliament's Committee on Science and Technology.

CFP: Philosophy of Information workshop

“Conceptual challenges of data in science and technology”

RRI in Rome

Publication date:
24 November 2014

RRI Hub goes to Rome

Following the launch of UCL's Hub for responsible research and innovation, housed in Science and Technology Studies, Melanie Smallman and Jack Stilgoe attended a conference on responsible research and innovation hosted by the Italian government as part of the Italian presidency of the European Union. Jack Stilgoe gave the keynote talk on "why responsible research and innovation matters" at the start of the meeting, which also featured Stefania Giannini, the Italian science minister and the new Commissioner for Research Innovation and Science, Carlos Moedas.

STS PhD student on the BBC Breakfast Show

Yesterday a video was released showing a women being
catcalled over 100 times in one day. Steph went on BBC breakfast to talk about
her reaction to the video and her work with the Good Night Out campaign which
works with venues across the UK to prevent sexual harassment on nights out.
More info about their good work is available here: www.goodnightoutcampaign.org

A Clichéd History of Computing

Publication date:
20 October 2014

This Wednesday, 22nd October, the STS seminar will be given by Dr James Sumner and will be titled 'A Clichéd History of Computing. Tea and coffee will be served from 4.00pm in Darwin B15, with the seminar starting at 4.30.

Eugenics at UCL: We inherited Galton

Publication date:
11 October 2014

This film features STS's Dr Carole Reeves discussing Francis Galton and the legacy of his racial eugenics. It also features UCL students doing what we like best: asking questions, engaging issues, and working to make a difference.

STS Seminars Confirmed

Publication date:
1 October 2014

STS are pleased to be confirm the first installments for the year of our ever-popular seminar series.

Getting things underway this year will be Prof Albert Weale of the UCL School of Public Policy who will be talking about 'The Presumption of NICE, or What Is in a Policy
Paradigm when It Comes to Health Care.'
The seminar will take place on Wednesday 8
Oct in B15 in UCL's Darwin building (PLEASE NOTE the change of room
from previous years). Tea and Coffee will be available from 4pm, with the talk
beginning at 4:30pm.

First STS Haldane Lecture Announced

Student Success For Grand Challenge Pitch

Publication date:
19 September 2014

STS students Samantha Vanderslott, Erman Sozudogru and Chowa
Nkonda successfully bid to receive a Grand Challenge Grant for their project
‘Challenging Neglect’. The purpose of the Grand Challenge Grant is to
enable students to apply their studies or research to the benefit of the wider
community in a way that connects with one of the Grand
Challenges. Their project sits within the Global Health
challenge. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are of tremendous global
health significance. The neglect has led to increasing number of deaths, due to
absence of required health care services drugs suitable for the environment and
inefficient (often non-existent) prevention and diagnostic methods. In other
words neglect has led to transformation of a local public health problem to a
humanitarian crisis that requires mobilisation of sources worldwide.

Honorary degree for STS leader

Publication date:
6 September 2014

STS has its first recipient of a UCL honorary degree, the award the university bestows on those who have made a lifelong contribution to a discipline and who have a long record upholding the values of our great institution.

STS PhD students shine in South America

4S / ESOCITE joint meeting: Science in Context(s): Souths and Norths

Upcoming Event: Perspectives On Neglected Tropical Diseases

Publication date:
1 September 2014

We are running a podcast project about
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) called 'Challenging Neglect', see: www.challengingneglect.com . As part of this project we are posting our
podcasts online, writing a regular blog (with the help of Chowa Nkonde) and
organising discussions relating to the topic. One of our podcast interviewees
is visiting London and we are arranging a workshop with him. Dr Peter Hotez is
a world renowned scientist and president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. He has
been instrumental in developing the term NTDs and promoting policy
intervention. The discussion will largely be based around one of his papers
about ‘Blue Marble Health': http://www.plosntds.org/article/citationList.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0002570

European funding success

Publication date:
21 August 2014

STS is part of a major new programme aiming to use the inspiration of space to interest children and teenagers in science and technology, broaden their minds and stimulate European and global citizenship. Led by the University of Leiden, EUSPACE-AWE is a €2million multi-national collaboration funded by the European Commission which will draw on the excitement of space and achievements of European space science. The activities within EUSPACE-AWE will be used to (i) encourage secondary school children to choose careers in science and technology and (ii) inspire primary-school children when their curiosity is high and their value systems are being formed. Underprivileged communities are a particularly focus of the work, including working closely with the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development in Cape Town in order to ensure a global coverage.

This work follows on from Professor Steve Miller’s longstanding connections with the Europlanet network and other high profile science communication efforts at European level. STS’s Karen Bultitude will lead on UCL’s contribution to the programme, developing a robust evaluation framework for investigating long-term effects of the EUSPACE-AWE activities. Findings from individual activities within the programme will be synthesised by UCL to identify wider impacts and implications.

STS takes on Latin America (part 1)

NSS2014 - STS scores 100 percent (again)

Publication date:
13 August 2014

STS scores well above average

Results for the National Student Survey 2014 are announced this week. For the second year in a row, students have voted STS 100% in overall satisfaction. This is a welcome evaluation of our academic programme and a comment on our department's support system, which combines intellectual growth and mentoring.

Brian Balmer speaks at UN

Publication date:
7 August 2014

Picture: Professor Brian Balmer (left) at the UN meeting.

On 6th August, Professor Brian Balmer spoke at the annual Meeting of Experts, convened to discuss developments relevant to the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BTWC). The international meeting was held at the United Nations, Palais des Nations in Geneva and was attended by delegations from States Parties to the Convention as well as members of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Prof Balmer spoke at a morning 'side event', "Can we learn from history? The Past and Future Implications of Scientific Developments for the BTWC", with nearly 100 people in the audience. His talk, on the history of concerns that genetic engineering might be applied to make biological weapons, was based on research undertaken as part of an 18-month Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project, 'The Formulation and Non-Formulation of Security Concerns'. In the sessions, his collaborators on the project (Prof Brian. Rappert, Exeter University, Dr Chandré Gould, Institute for Security Research, South Africa; Prof Malcolm Dando, Bradford University; and Dr Sam Evans, Berkeley University) also spoke about their research.

Prof Agar on Science and WW1

Farewell Jo Pearson

Publication date:
28 July 2014

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STS announces the departure of Ms Jo Pearson, our academic administrator. She is taking up a post elsewhere in UCL, in Department of Medical Physics and biomedical Engineering. Jo joined STS in January 2009. She leaves STS at the end of August 2014.